Among Friends
by PlayTheGame
Summary: This is the story of a group of friends as they go through the ups and downs of everyday life. Includes Randy/Melina, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Steph McMahon and Trish Stratus. More possible pairings to come!
1. Chapter 1

The large gym was pretty full for a Friday evening, especially full of women which was much to the delight of the three men currently standing by the bench press. One of the three, very well built with short dirty blonde hair and baby blue eyes placed the heavy weight bar back in its holding position and stood to join his friends. Upon standing he quickly realised that their attention was solely on the group of very fine looking women huddled around the treadmills.

"I thought we were here to work out guys, not try and pick up chicks," he interrupted the gawk fest, causing both heads to swing in his direction.

"Speak for yourself Cena. I'm always trying to pick up chicks," claimed the brown haired man of the group. His icy blue eyes sparkled flirtatiously in the direction of the women as he smiled a cocky smile, making his bare pecs bounce up and down to the delight of his audience.

"Watch it Orton, you've got a girlfriend," said the longer haired one of the group, running his fingers through the sweaty blonde strands.

"As if that's ever stopped him before."

The three men laughed as they swapped positions and continued their workout. John Cena, Randy Orton and Paul Levesque had been friends since they knew how to walk. The three had lived in the same neighbourhood and had grown up together. They were best friends along with Chris Irvine who they had met in college.

"Hey Paul," called John as Randy took his turn on the bench press.

Paul waited until he had passed the bar safely into Randy's hands before turning to his other friend. "Yeah?"

"Where's Chris? I thought he was supposed to be meeting us here?" questioned John. He looked at Paul in confusion when he suddenly burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"That's right, I forgot to tell you guys," Paul tittered in between laughs. "Chris said he didn't want to go to the gym with us anymore because he felt, and these are his exact words by the way, 'inferior and small!' How fucking funny is that?" The other two cracked up and joined him in his laughter.

"That's messed up man," said John, shaking his head with a smile.

"Are you trying to make me drop this thing on myself? Jesus Paul! I thought we agreed no funny talk on the bench!" cried Randy as he struggled to keep the heavy bar from crushing his chest. Both Paul and John offered a hand, each lifting one side and helping to place it back in position. "That is fucking hilarious though. I never knew Chris to be so insecure. Although how could you not when you're around me." An arrogant smile crossed Randy's face before he caught sight of the women laughing. It took a moment before he realised that they were laughing _at him_ because he had to put the weight down. His smile quickly turned into a frown when both his friends started laughing too and he got up in a huff, taking a long pull from his water bottle.

"Move over skimpy and let me show you how it's done," said Paul, gently shoving him out of the way and making himself comfortable on the bench. With the help of John, he lifted the bar and started his first set, easily breezing through it before taking a break and starting the next. John concentrated on counting the reps and offering encouragement to his friend while Randy still stood in a huff, not quite believing that those women had the audacity to laugh at him. After a few minutes, Paul placed the bar back in position and stood up, quickly catching the eye of the women who had seemingly forgotten all about their workout and instead had focused their attention solely on the three friends. He cheekily smiled at them and offered a small wave as he brushed past Randy, annoying him even more. John laughed at their antics while an idea sprung to mind.

"Hey, why don't we invite them out with us later? I'm sure the girls won't mind," he suggested to the other two. He looked at them and saw nothing but smiles in return.

"I like the way you think, Cena," smiled Paul as he slapped him on the shoulder. He wiped his face with the bottom of his white tank top and when he lifted his head, his eyes connected with those of the brunette of the group. She smiled at him and ran her tongue across her bottom lip flirtatiously. This only encouraged Paul who looked between his friends and with their nods of approval, he walked towards the group.

"Hey ladies," he put on his best smile and winked at the brunette, causing her to blush madly. Her friends giggled like school girls at his actions while the apparent leader of the group spoke up.

"Hi!" She said, tilting her head to the side and sneaking a peek of Randy and John who were still by the weight bench.

"My friends and I," he indicated John and Randy and they both offered cheeky waves and smiles at the group before he continued, "well we were wondering if you would like to join us later tonight at Club 15? We'll be there with a few friends around ten if you're interested?"

Paul watched as the women talked it over before he got his answer.

"We'd love to. I'm Michelle by the way. This is Maria, this is Kelly and _this_ is Eve." The blonde woman bumped her brunette friend and pushed her forward and into the space of Paul who smiled at her warmly. He stuck out his hand and shook it while they got locked in an intense gaze. "Nice to meet you, Eve." He broke eye contact and looked at the rest of the group, dropping his hand to motion to his friends. "The blond guy is John, the other one is Randy and I'm Paul. I'll be looking forward to meeting you later tonight then. Enjoy the rest of your workout," he winked and headed back to his friends.

"Oh don't worry, we will," hushed Michelle as she checked him out causing the other three to burst into laughter.

"Either they rejected you and are now laughing behind your back or you walk funny," said John as Paul joined his two friends. He received a punch to the arm and turned to glare at the man that did it.

"Hey, you should know better than to underestimate Lev man," Randy snorted.

"Thanks, Randy. I think we'll just save all that ass for ourselves. You," he pointed at John, "can fucking find your own!" Paul chirped in, a mock look of anger on his face.

"Are they coming or not man?" John deadpanned.

"Of course they're coming!" Paul exclaimed and received a knuckle bump from Randy in the process. He received a stare from John and couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew what was coming next and once Randy turned to look at him, he knew it too.

"I don't know why you're so happy, Randy. I mean you do have a girlfriend," John said, confirming his friends' suspicions. He was always getting called the sensitive one of the group and this proved it.

"I know I have a girlfriend, John. But there's no harm in enjoying a little female company. Besides Melina understands that I just love to be around women."

"That's the biggest crock of shit and you know it! You're always cheating on her and it's just not right. She deserves better than that," John fumed. He could never understand why Randy fooled around on Melina. In his mind, she was everything you could ever want in a girlfriend yet Randy insisted on cheating on her every chance he got and it infuriated him to no end.

"Fuck off John! I'm not having this conversation with you again alright. I'm leaving now, see you guys back at the house." Randy angrily made his way past them and headed for the locker rooms, not even bothering to acknowledge their company for later tonight when they checked him out as he walked by.

John rolled his eyes at his friends' outburst and turned to Paul who was shaking his head. "Why don't you ever back me up on this? You're good friends with Melina man, we all are and she doesn't deserve this."

"You know Randy, he's never going to change. And I never back you up because shit like this happens and it always causes fights," Paul replied as the pair headed for the locker rooms as well.

"Man fuck that! You're afraid of Randy throwing a hissy fit so you say nothing?"

"John," Paul sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, "Melina knows what's going on yet she stays with him. Until she wises up and decides to ditch him there's nothing we can do and constantly having fights over it isn't going to change that."

John let the other man's words sink in. He wished Melina would just dump him and save herself all the heartache that came with dating him. He loved Randy like a brother but he hated the fact that he treated women like dirt. It just didn't sit well with him at all. "Yeah well, it's still not right."

As the two walked inside the locker room, they caught sight of Randy heading for the showers, a white towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He saw them and sighed dramatically. "If you've come in here to bitch then save it, I'm not listening anymore."

"We haven't! Jesus man, chill the fuck out!" Paul looked over at John then back at Randy who were glaring at each other. "Both of you. We're going out tonight with some very lovely ladies and you two are not going to ruin it. Now let's just forget about it alright?" When he didn't get an answer from either of them he raised his voice a little and tried again. "Alright? Otherwise I'll have to kick both your asses."

"As if," John snorted.

"Yeah right," Randy chuckled cockily at the same time as John spoke. They made eye contact and their responses brought about laughter. "Man don't talk shit. You couldn't kick my ass if your life depended on it."

"I think somebody's forgetting about a certain little scrap that took place in fifth grade?" Paul tilted his head slightly as he laughed, sorting out his towel and shampoo.

John laughed out loud as he remembered the event Paul was talking about. "Hey that's right! Paul kicked you ass so badly you couldn't walk straight for like a week!"

Randy glared at them both as they high fived each other and stood there laughing at him. "You guys are such assholes," he huffed and walked away as the laughter behind him grew even louder.

* * *

"Trish! Can you pass me the brush?" called a dark haired Latin beauty as she examined her deep brown locks in the mirror. Suddenly a brush almost hit her in the face and she turned to see her strikingly beautiful blonde haired friend staring intently at her nails with the brush in her outstretched hand. "I said pass me the brush not hit me in the face with it!"

Trish lifted her head and was quick to apologize when she realised what she had done. "Shit! I'm sorry Melina. But I think I've chipped a nail."

Melina laughed at her friends pouting face and rolled her eyes. "Let me see." She examined the practically perfect set of manicured nails on the just as perfect slim hand and sighed. "There's nothing wrong with them, Trish. Now I know what Steph's talking about when she says that you have a nail obsession!"

The blonde woman gasped and shook her head. "I do not have a nail obsession and Steph.....well Steph needs to just shut up about that!"

"I need to shut up about what?" came a voice from the other room. A few seconds later, a stunning brunette entered the room fully done up and ready to go partying. "Would you two hurry the hell up! We're supposed to be meeting the guys in thirty minutes!" she demanded of her two friends as they looked at the clock on the wall and realised the time. Just then, there was a knock on the door and the brunette went to go answer it. She took a quick look through the peep hole in the door and smiled when she saw who was on the other side. She opened the door and pulled the man into a hug. "Chris! What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting you at the club?" She ushered him into the living room and both took a seat on the worn but comfortable sofa.

"I didn't go to the gym with the guys so I decided I'd come here and escort you lovely ladies over there instead. And I have to say that you're looking mighty fine tonight Miss. McMahon," he playfully flirted, eyeing her up and down and receiving a smack on the arm for his efforts.

"Stop checking me out!" she smiled and they both laughed.

"STEPHANIE! WHO'S AT THE DOOR?" came a loud call from the other room.

Chris and Stephanie stood and walked the short distance to the bedroom and were immediately engulfed by another loud squeal.

"Ahhhhhhh! CHRIS! Oh my God I haven't seen you in like......" started Trish as she leapt up and flung her arms around him for a hug but she was quickly interrupted.

"A whole week!" he interjected and hugged her back. They separated and Trish turned to Melina, staring at her as if she had three heads.

"Why aren't you hugging him?" she quizzed.

"Because I haven't been anti-social like you and saw him two days ago that's why," Melina answered but she stood and gave him a hug anyway. "But it's not like I need an excuse to hug him."

"That's right, I'm just so huggable," Chris said and smiled cutely, getting laughs from the other three. He looked them all over and sighed dreamily. They all looked stunning. "Like I told Steph outside, you guys are freakin' hot tonight!"

"You're not too bad yourself, Rockstar," joked Steph as she checked out his shiny silver pants, black shirt and shiny silver waist coat. Not a lot of men could pull that look off but it suited Chris to perfection.

Chris spun around on his heels and when he faced them again, he quickly flicked his shades down over his eyes and stuck his arms out. "You ladies ready to rock and roll or what?"

"Oh you know we are!" replied Melina.

The three women quickly applied their finishing touches before the group headed out, ready for a night on the town.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to SaraHHH, dx-nodoubt-dx and missbean1997 for reviewing!

* * *

The club was packed as Trish, Melina, Stephanie and Chris made their way inside. They had a quick glance around the crowded room before Trish spotted the rest of their friends sitting at a booth on the other side. They squeezed their way through the mass of people on the dance floor and headed in that direction. As they got closer, they realised that the guys weren't alone. They were joined by a group of very glamorous and from the looks of it, very flirtatious women. Paul was sidling up to a striking brunette who looked to be hanging on his every word while John was in the middle of a pretty serious looking conversation with a red head and a skinny blonde. But the most noticeable sight was that of Randy with his arm around a sultry blonde woman who was very clearly loving the attention he was giving to her.

"That son of a bitch!" fumed Melina upon seeing her boyfriend yet again flirting with another woman. She left the group and stormed over to the booth.

"When will he ever learn," commented Chris wryly as the other three followed their angry friend and waited for the fireworks to kick off and they didn't have to wait very long.

"RANDY!" cried Melina, causing everybody in the booth to jump at the high pitch of her voice. Randy immediately pushed Michelle away and put on his best smile.

"Lina baby! I didn't know you were coming now!" he said lamely.

"That's obvious," piped in John causing everybody but Melina and Randy to snicker under their breath. Randy shot him a death glare before turning his attention back to his pissed off girlfriend.

"Well I'm out of here before the shit hits the fan," exclaimed Paul whilst he got to his feet. He extended a hand to Eve who gladly took it and smiled her thanks. "Anybody fancy another round....of shots!" He said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Stephanie snorted at him. "Paul! The last time I did shots with you I was sick for a week!"

"Oh don't be such a girl, Steph! Come on. You never refuse a drink when I'm buying," he coaxed, getting a small smile from his friend.

"And neither do I," said John as he threw his arms around Paul and Stephanie's shoulders. "To the bar!"

"You heard the man, let's go!" cried Chris playfully and everybody shuffled through the crowded dance floor to the bar leaving Randy and Melina alone. Melina stared a hole through Michelle's back as she walked away with her friends before turning and glaring at her boyfriend.

"Who the hell is that?" she asked in disgust.

"Just some girl from the gym. Paul and John thought it would be a good idea to invite them out with us tonight," he replied, sliding closer to her and trying to wrap his arm around her shoulder.

Melina put her hand up indicating for him to stop. "Don't! I'm getting sick of this, Randy. Every time I see you you've got some slut clinging to you!"

Randy sighed and rubbed a hand across his weary face. He loved Melina, he really did but sometimes she could be such a whine. He liked to be around women, that was it. Sure sometimes it went a little further than that but it didn't mean anything. Not to him anyway. "That's not true and you know it babe. Come on, just calm down, relax, have a drink." He pushed the drink he had previously bought for Michelle over to her and gave that patented smile. "Let's just have a good night out with our friends, huh?" He tried again to sidle up to her and this time was successful.

"You better not talk to her again, Randy and I mean it," she huffed, getting momentarily lost in his intoxicating cologne and the heat coming from his body. No matter how many times she caught him in situations like this, at the end of the day she did love him. And besides, a little bit of flirtatious banter never hurt anyone. As Randy placed a soft kiss on her cheek, she ignored the little voice in her head telling her that more often than not, it went further than flirtatious banter and instead focused on her body's response to his kiss.

* * *

"Alright, let's make some introductions shall we?" exclaimed Paul as the group arrived at the bar.

"Actually, Paul, I think we're going to go now," said Michelle reluctantly as she shot a dirty look in the direction of the booth.

"We are?" asked Eve in shock. Just because Michelle was having a bad night now that Randy's girlfriend had shown up didn't mean that they all had to leave. She looked between Maria and Kelly to find that they had already chosen to side with Michelle and sighed.

"Yes, we are. Are you coming?"

"Actually," Eve said looking at Paul and encouraged by his smile, she gave her answer, "I think I'm going to stay here and hang out." Paul gave her a wink and she laughed, completely forgetting about her friends as they said their goodbye's and left.

"Well that made my job a hell of a lot easier. Eve," he said motioning to each friend as he rhymed them off. "These are my good friends Chris, Stephanie, Trish and of course you already know John."

"Nice to meet you guys," she said, shaking each hand as it was offered to her. She was happy to find that they all seemed pretty friendly and didn't seem to harbour a grudge against her due to her friend's choice in men.

"Now that everybody's been introduced, can we PLEASE get on to these shots?" whined John.

"Alright. Quite your moaning, Cena. Shots it is." Stephanie shook her head as Paul and John high fived each other before turning to Eve. "Trust me, you'll never be able to keep up with these two when it comes to shots."

Eve smiled, happy that she was making conversation. "I can hold my own when it comes to liquor."

Trish, whose attention had been on her two reconciling friends over in the booth chose now to give her opinion. "I thought that too until I was dying with a hangover for a week," she laughed and the three women laughed.

"And what about you?" Eve asked, directing her attention to Chris who had been standing next to Stephanie just taking everything in. "Can you keep up with these two?"

Chris shook his head and smiled. "Shots aren't really my thing. I prefer a nice cold beer."

"Well touch shit, Rockstar. You're on the hard stuff tonight!" exclaimed Paul happily as he placed a tray of a dozen little glasses in front of him. Half of them were filled with a bright green liquid and the other half filled with red. "Come on people. It's double or nothing!" He gathered his friends together, making sure to pull Eve on one side of him and Stephanie on the other.

"Let the fun begin bitches," said John as he grabbed one of the little green filled glasses and downed it in one. The rest of the group followed suit and collectively winced as the fiery liquid burned a passage to their stomachs.

"Ugh," groaned Trish as she placed her glass upside down on the tray.

"What the fuck is this shit, Paul?," asked Chris, his face all screwed up.

"This," Paul said as he lifted the red filled glass and held it up in the air," is the nectar of the God's my friend."

Stephanie caught Eve's eye as they leaned forward to lift their glasses and rolled her eyes causing the other woman to laugh. "You'll get used to him," she joked.

"I think I'm used to him already," was Eve's reply as she stared at him. Stephanie saw the little glint in her eye and smiled. Paul was a charmer that was for sure and it looked like he'd already charmed the pants off of Eve. Chris saw it too and bumped Stephanie's shoulder, raising his eyebrows and nodding his head. The two friends laughed before they were summoned to take their next drink.

"You guys ready," asked John and without giving anybody a chance, he downed his second shot. "Wooooo! That felt good! Let's get this par-tay started!" He waited a second until Trish had finished her drink before pulling her onto the dance floor with her laughing all the way.

Paul set his glass down on the tray before he turned to Eve. "You wanna dance?" he asked with the cutest little smile on his face.

"Sure," she answered and took his hand, leading him over to Trish and John who were already busting a move on the packed dance floor.

Chris stuck out his arm and offered it to Stephanie. "Shall we?"

She took it and smiled in response. "We shall!"

* * *

A few hours and too many shots later, the group of eight were staggering down the block on their way home. The girls had decided to crash at the guys place seeing as it was much bigger and also because there would be one free bed. Paul had offered his room to Trish and Stephanie because he predicted that he would be staying with Eve. Sure enough, as they descended upon her block, Eve cuddled even further into Paul and smiled up at him. She stood on her tip toes and whispered into his ear. "You wanna come back to my place?"

Paul turned to look at her despite the fact that her eyes were glazed over, he could see a little flutter of lust behind them. He leaned down and nibbled her ear. "Absolutely," he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. They both laughed before Paul decided to address the rest of his friends. "Guys," he called and the group stopped to look at him. "I'll catch you tomorrow, I'm heading back to Eve's tonight," he said with a gleam in his eye as he wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulder.

He exchanged "good nights" and "see you tomorrow's" with his friends before they continued on down the block, leaving just Paul and Eve to turn right and head to her place.

"Do you live with the other girls?" he asked curiously.

"We lucked out in our apartment block. Kelly and I live in one apartment and Maria and Michelle live in the one right across the hall," she answered. "It's kinda like _Friends_!"

"Hey, so it is!"

"Why? Were you worried that you might have an audience?" she playfully bumped his shoulder and then laughed at his blushing cheeks.

"Not that it's ever bothered me before but, I was hoping it would just be the two of us, you know?" He said it seriously and Eve swallowed hard as a blot of electricity shot up and down her spine. Christ he was gorgeous. Right from his hazel eyes all the way down to his expensive black leather shoes. She closed her eyes as he moved in closer and a second later, she felt his lips crush against hers, sending her head spinning a hundred miles a second. She'd never been happier about going to the gym in her life!

* * *

"So, John, where's your hot piece tonight?" asked Stephanie as the gang rounded the corner to their apartment block. "It's not like Paul to get some and you have nothing."

"Well I would have if it wasn't for _somebody_ scaring everybody away," he replied, stressing the word 'somebody' as he glared at Randy. But his friend didn't even notice as he was too wrapped up in sweet talking Melina.

"Yeah but that Eve girl didn't leave with her friends. She chose to stay with Paul. The other two must not have liked you so much," teased Trish and her and Stephanie laughed at John's wounded expression.

"Whatever Trish" he huffed, making the 'W' sign with his fingers. "I just wasn't feeling the ladies tonight, that's all."

"You weren't feeling anything buddy," piped in Chris which earned him a shot to the arm.

"And where is your female company for tonight then?" John asked with a raised eyebrow. But he quickly started laughing when Chris yanked Stephanie and Trish to either side of him and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

"Why it's right here my man!" he answered with a cheeky smile. The four of them laughed before falling into a comfortable silence. Randy and Melina were oblivious to everybody, too wrapped up in each other to even want to join in their friends' conversation. Chris groaned as he watched them all but molest each other on the sidewalk. "Is it just me or does anybody else find that nauseating?"

"What I find nauseating is the fact that she keep going back," said John suddenly turning serious. Everybody knew that Randy's actions pissed John off.

"Me too," added Trish.

"Me three," piped in Stephanie, pulling her light jacket tighter around her shoulders to block the cool night breeze.

"Well it's like Paul said earlier, until Melina wises up there's nothing we can do," John finished, hoping to put the hot issue to rest. "You wanna know something guys?"

"What?" asked Trish curiously although she could tell it wasn't going to be serious. He had that little glint in his eye which always spelled trouble when it came to John.

"I'm fucking tired!" he yawned, stretching his arms up above his head with a dramatic sigh.

"Well you haven't got far to go now, we're almost home," commented Stephanie as she spotted the apartment block just up ahead. "I actually can't wait to get some sleep either and Paul's bed is so damn comfy," she smiled to herself. But her smile turned to a frown when she saw the surprised faces of her friends. "What?"

"Paul's bed is so damn comfy?" questioned Trish suspiciously.

"It is! You know it is, Trish. You've slept in it before too!" replied Stephanie causing both John and Chris to look between them.

"It's all coming out now! What the hell are you two doing sleeping in Paul's bed?" asked Chris, nudging John's arm playfully.

"Oh you know, that's where we have our weekly threesomes," said Stephanie nonchalantly. They all cracked up into fits of laughter, eventually catching the attention of Randy and Melina.

"What's so funny?" asked Randy as he removed himself from Melina's neck.

John shook his head. "Oh nothing. Steph's just telling us all about her weekly threesome with Trish and Paul."

Melina and Randy looked at each other then at Stephanie and Trish. "What the hell type of conversation are you guys having?" asked Melina.

"Well you would know if you weren't molesting each other on the fucking street," said Chris as his nose bunched up cutely. "I know you love each other and all but I do NOT need to see that. In fact, none of us do. Right guys?"

"Right," they all answered in unison but it just caused Randy to laugh in their faces.

"You guys are just jealous." He kissed Melina on the neck and she smiled at him. "Right babe?"

She pecked him on the lips before turning to her friends. "Right!"

"Man you guys suck! Thank God we're home so I can go to bed." John exclaimed with a sigh until an idea came to him and an evil little smile crossed his face. "But ah, seeing as Paul isn't here, maybe I could be his substitute? What do you say ladies?"

Stephanie and Trish looked at each other then at John. "But what about Paul? Wouldn't that be cheating?"

"Screw Paul! He's off getting his rock soft anyways!"

Their mini-argument continued as they entered the building and got inside the elevator with John not letting up and arguing his case all the way into the apartment.

"NO!" yelled Stephanie and Trish together as they slammed Paul's bedroom door in his face. He could hear them laughing as he walked dejectedly to his own room and collapsed on his bed.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING!" he yelled and heard even more laughter.

Outside in the living, Chris was left to his own devices. Melina and Randy had immediately went to Randy's room, leaving him all alone. He glanced at Paul's bedroom door, debating whether or not he should go spend some time with the girls. Deciding against it, he flicked off all the lights, put the lock in the door and headed for bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** - Sorry about taking forever to update this. I had half of it written and then Voices took up all my time and I forgot about it lol. Hopefully I'll get another chapter up soon and not leave you waiting too long.

* * *

Paul tiptoed into the hallway of the silent apartment and quietly closed the door behind him. He continued his cat-like walk to the sofa in the living room before falling heavily onto the soft cushions. He rubbed his hand across his tired face as he kicked off his shoes. He took off his clothes except for his boxers before crashing on the sofa with the huge afghan throw wrapped around him. Within seconds he was sound asleep.

* * *

"Ugh," groaned Stephanie as she raised her hand to shield her eyes from the early morning light breaking through the blinds. She sat up in the bed and cursed again at the nauseous feeling that gripped her stomach. Looking to her left, she resisted the urge to thump Trish out of the bed. "How is she able to sleep yet I'm dying with a fucking hangover?" she asked herself as she very slowly rolled out of the bed and wobbled out of the room. There was only one thing on her mind and that was a nice tall glass of cold water coupled with some aspirin. "Damn Paul and his stupid shots," she cursed as she headed towards the kitchen. But as she walked past the sofa, something caught her attention. A pair of large feet was sticking out over the arm rest. As she got closer, she chuckled at the sight of her 6'4 friend sprawled out across the much smaller sofa. He looked so damn cute lying there with one arm hanging off the end and the other on his bare abdomen. The afghan was practically on the floor but he looked pretty comfortable despite his awkward position. However, any notion of him looking cute quickly fled from her mind with the returning feeling of nausea. As fast as she could manage, she made her way into the kitchen and swallowed down some aspirin before returning to her standing position over the couch with a bottle of water in tow. She smiled evilly as she held the bottle right over his face before tilting it slightly. The water almost dropped onto his face in slow motion. But when it landed, she got exactly the reaction she was hoping for.

"What the fuck," Paul groaned as he bolted upright and wiped at his now wet face. He wiped the water from his eyes to find Stephanie standing there laughing her ass off with a bottle of water in her hand. "What the hell was that for?" he barked as he looked at his wet chest.

"That.....," she said between laughs, "was for making me feel like a pile of crap right now. Oh my God, Paul. Your face was priceless!"

"What the hell does soaking me have to do with you feeling like crap?" he almost pouted at her as he sat up. "You're gonna pay for this one by the way, McMahon. You can trust me on that."

She sat down in the space between Paul and the armrest. "Shots, Paul. Shots. That's why I feel like crap. I always tell you that they make me sick yet you insist on making me drink them."

"You could have just said no," he countered with a smirk on his face knowing full well that if she had of said no, he would have harassed her until she had said yes.

"As if that would have stopped you. I swear you and John are evil when it comes to those things," she replied as she rubbed her temples. "And you also made me laugh too hard and now my head hurts."

Paul shook his head and reached for her. He pulled her back against his chest and fixed the blanket around them. "You throw water over me then laugh your damn ass off and it's my fault that you have a sore head?"

"Yes," she said as she cuddled back into him.

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep as I didn't get much earlier if you know what I mean," he finished with a smile.

Stephanie screwed her face up and glanced back at him. "I take it things went well with Eve then?"

"Very well indeed if you must know. Girl can suck co....."

She clamped a hand over his mouth and stopped him from speaking. "I DO NOT need to hear the rest of that sentence, Paul. Save it for John. I know how you guys like to tell each other all about your sexual escapades."

"Sexual escapades?"

"Yes, sexual escapades. Now shut up and go back to sleep."

"If you say so."

* * *

Beeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Chris rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slapped a hand down on his alarm clock. He rolled to his side and glanced at the red digits. 10:45am.

"Damn," he said with a sigh as he got out of the warm, comfortable bed and headed for the living room. Just as he walked out the door, he saw Trish leaving Paul's room. "Hey," he whispered, careful not to wake up his sleeping housemates.

Trish ran a hand through her messy hair as she walked towards her friend. "Hey. You sleep well?" She asked as the two walked towards the kitchen.

"Yeah. You enjoy sleeping in Paul's bed....again. Or was that not you the first time around," he joked and received a slap on the arm for his troubles.

Trish smirked and rubbed at her eye. She quickly took her hand down when she saw two sleeping forms on the sofa. "At least I'm not actually sleeping _with_ Paul." She nodded her head in the direction of the couch and Chris couldn't help but laugh when he saw his two friends sleeping. They walked over and both laughed out loud at the state of them. Stephanie sat on the middle cushion but was slanted towards the left while Paul was practically sprawled across her lap while his left foot hung on the floor.

"Awwww, look at them! Aren't they cute?" mocked Chris with a little girly voice.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say they were together upon seeing that," commented Trish. She'd always felt that the two of them had a thing for each other even though none of them acted like it. They were just really close friends. Hell they even worked together. Shaking that thought from her head, she returned to her original quest – getting some water and an aspirin for her head. "I don't even know why she got in there with him. She was cursing him to the high heavens last night for making her drink all those shots."

Chris laughed as he plopped down on the laze-boy adjacent to the sofa. "I love how both you guys blame Paul and John for your hangovers. If you didn't want to drink them you didn't have to."

"Yeah well, you know those two," called Trish from the kitchen. She lowered her voice as she returned to the living room. "When they want you to do something they'll not let up until you do it." She looked around the room and was debating where to sit when John's bedroom door swung open and he bounced outside.

"Good Morning New York!" he called loudly as he stretched his limbs within the wooden doorframe. But he was immediately silenced by Trish who threatened to throw a cushion at him.

"Shush! Paul and Steph are sleeping," she told him.

John looked at the two of them sleeping soundly on the sofa and laughed. "Ha! Looks like Paul didn't get any last night after all. So are we supposed to sit in silence all morning then?" He glanced at Trish and couldn't stop the chuckle escaping from his mouth. Her hair was all over the place and some mascara still lingered around her tired eyes from the night before. "You look like shit!"

Chris laughed from his comfy position on the laze-boy as he watched Trish beat John with the cushion. He glanced to his left to check on their sleeping counterparts and wasn't surprised to see Paul's sleepy eyes staring back. He pointed to the fighting duo with a questioning look on his face. Chris just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in response. Paul did the same before struggling into a seated position. He scratched the back of his head and frowned in annoyance at the commotion being made.

"Guys! Stop making so much noise will you?" he said gruffly causing Trish and John to stop their little struggle. Both turned to him still locked in some sort of tackle position and John immediately broke into a grin.

"Paul! How come you got here so early? You not get any last night?" he teased, letting go of Trish and plopping himself down on the other laze-boy chair opposite to the one Chris was sitting on.

Paul smiled at his question and shook his head. "What type of stupid question is that? Of course I got some. In fact, I got more than some." A wistful grin crossed his face as he fell into his memories of what had happened just a few hours ago.

"Ugh! You guys are such whores!" blurted Trish moodily as she stalked into the kitchen leaving the three men and the still sleeping Stephanie in the living room.

"Was it good?" asked Chris, leaning forward in his seat. Although he was never really one to kiss and tell, he loved to listen to the guys talk about their experiences. Well, just Paul and John. He hated listening to Randy boast about some chick when he was with Melina. He and everybody else for that matter just hoped to hell that she realised what he was doing to her and left his sorry ass.

"Oh she was great. She sucked this bad boy until I thought it was gonna fall off," replied Paul as he pulled at his crotch which earned him a high five from John and a smile from Chris who laughed at what had just happened.

John saw him snickering away and looked at him in confusion. "What's so funny, Rockstar?"

"You do realise that he was pulling on his dick and then he high fived you!" Chris told him and then burst into laughter at the look on his face. Paul joined in too and both of them fell into fits.

Trish came back from the kitchen to find Chris and Paul laughing their asses off while John sat there looking pissed off. "What's happened now?"

"Nothing!" yelled John. "These guys are just being assholes that's all!" he huffed.

"Who's being assholes?" Suddenly everybody's attention turned to Stephanie who was now in a seated position on the sofa, her hair poking out all over the place.

"I don't know what the hell they're on about. Hell, I never do," commented Trish as she walked over to the couch, gave Paul a hard shove so that he was forced to make some room for her and then sat in the space he provided.

"Hey!" he huffed, reluctantly moving from his warm and comfortable spot to let her in.

"Oh give over!" she snapped back. Her hand gripped at her blonde locks before coming to rest on her aching head. "I swear to God the next time either of you puts a shot in front of me I'm going to chuck right into your fucking faces!"

A surprised silence fell over the room before it was replaced by the sound of Paul and John's laughter. Both guys were laughing hysterically at Trish's little outburst which didn't impress her one bit. She gave an angry push to Paul who was already teetering on the edge of the couch and sure enough he fell right off and landed with a heavy thud on the floor.

"Owwww! What the fuck is it with you two abusing me today?" he whined as he got up and rubbed his throbbing behind. "First Steph with the water and now you with the shoving!"

"You deserve it," chimed in Stephanie as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes while at the same time trying to hide the smile on her face. Waking up in the middle of one of her friend's little spats wasn't unusual.

"Oh I deserve it yet he gets nothing?" whined Paul as he pointed to John who immediately got to his feet in protest.

"What do you mean man? She was beating the crap outta me with the pillow earlier," he cried in his defence.

Paul covered his mouth in faux shock. "Oh My God! A pillow? No way!"

His over dramatic reaction brought about laughter from everybody except John. But suddenly all their attention fell to Randy who stood in the doorway to his room with an angry expression on his face.

"What the hell's going on out here?" he almost demanded which earned him a collective sigh in response. Randy's infamous morning grouchiness was well known to his friends and they practically just ignored him in the morning's now.

"Paul and John are upset because Trish and Steph have been abusing them this morning," answered Chris as he got to his feet. "I'm going for a shower. Enjoy Mr. Grumpy guys," he said as he passed and quickly dodged the punch Randy threw his way. His laughter carried down the hallway.

"It's Saturday morning people. Either shut up or get out!" Randy huffed before closing his door right in their faces and getting back into bed.

"What's going on?" Melina mumbled as she sleepily lifted her head from the pillow.

"Nothing babe, go back to sleep," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and tried to reach the peaceful slumber he was in just minutes before.

"Fuck he's a nasty SOB in the mornings," commented John as he sat back down on the laze-boy. "You guys want to go for breakfast or something? I'm starved."

"Mmmmm, food," moaned Stephanie appreciatively.

Trish screwed her face up and covered her mouth. "The thought of eating something right now makes me want to barf!"

"Well you can stay here and throw your guts up. I'm going with John. You coming Steph?" asked Paul as he walked to his bedroom. He waited outside the door for an answer.

Stephanie looked at Trish and smiled apologetically. "Sorry hun but....I'm hungry." She shrugged her shoulders before getting to her feet and heading into Paul's room to get ready. A few seconds later Paul emerged with a bundle of clothes in his hand.

"I'm changing in your room man. Steph's in mine," he stated simply and walked into John's room.

"You sure you don't wanna come?"

Trish lifted her head to see John standing with one hand on his bedroom door. "Yea but thanks. I think I'll just stay here and die in piece thank you very much."

"Your choice," he chuckled as he went to get ready.

Around fifteen minutes later Trish let out an appreciative sigh at the silence in the apartment. Paul, John and Stephanie had left, Randy and Melina were still in bed and Chris......

"Where the hell is everybody?"

Trish turned to find Chris standing behind her with a towel around his waist. His hair was soaking wet and he wiped at it with the smaller towel he held in his hand. She refrained from letting her eyes sweep over his glistening body. From time to time she'd found herself wondering what exactly was hidden behind that towel. But she could never act on those fleeting impulses. He was one of her best friends! "John, Paul and Steph decided to head out for some breakfast and the other two are still in bed," she answered diverting her eyes to his freshly shaven face.

"And you didn't go?" he asked, walking around the sofa to sit down beside her. The towel rode up his legs slightly and again Trish had to reel herself in.

"The thought of eating something makes me feel like chugging my guts up all over the place right now."

Chris screwed up his face before getting to his feet. "That's nice. I'm going to get changed before making my own breakfast. Be back in a few."

With that, Trish was left to her own devices. She lay back against the soft cushions of the leather couch and sighed. "Peace at last."

* * *

Meanwhile, a few blocks down the road, Paul, John and Stephanie were entering a small diner.

"Fuck I'm starved," said John as the three friends made their way over to an empty booth. They sat down and quickly put in an order for some coffee before looking at the menu. "Full pancake stack with extra bacon, you damn right boy!"

Stephanie looked at him and shook her head. Although how could she blame him, she got quite excited about food when she was hungry too. "I think I'll go for half a stack myself. What about you Paul?"

"Same as Johnny boy here. I'm starving too. But what are we going to do for the rest of the weekend guys? I want to actually do something or go somewhere this time instead of sitting around."

"Well...."

"Here you go folks," interrupted the old lady waitress as she set a steaming pot of coffee down on the table along with three mugs. "You ready to order?"

Stephanie gave their orders while Paul poured everybody some coffee. He took a sip and let out a happy sigh. "Damn that's good. Anyways, what were you going to say Steph?"

"I was going to say that we have to do something because Trish goes back to her regular shift in the hospital on Monday."

"That sucks. That means she's going back to the all nighters right?" At his friends' nod he continued. "You know, it's nice enough weather, what about we all head to the beach tomorrow or something?"

Stephanie and Paul glanced at each other and nodded their heads. "That sounds good," Stephanie said as she smiled.

"I'm digging the beach idea man," Paul agreed too. "But that's tomorrow. What about today?"

"Well I don't know about you but Chris and I have got a date with Guitar Hero today. There's no way I'm letting him beat me man. That shit's fucked up," John stated as he screwed up his face in disgust.

"Hey that's right! He totally whipped your ass the other night," laughed Paul.

John glared at him. "Man shut up. He cheated by picking a song I didn't even know."

Stephanie watched the two of them in amusement. She never understood it but winning those stupid video games was a matter of life or death to the guys. And not just John and Chris. Paul and Randy were just as bad. "You guys are such losers. Arguing over Guitar Hero."

"Don't you go dissin' on Guitar Hero. That game rocks. Literally!" Paul laughed at his own joke but only received stares from his friends in return.

"Dude, that was lame," John deadpanned before the three of them broke into laughter. A few seconds later three plates of hot pancakes stacked with bacon and maple syrup were set on the table and the hungry trio quickly tucked into their breakfast and talked about their plans for the beach tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** - Well it's been a while since I posted this one and I apologize for that but thanks to the few people that have been reviewing. I guess I got so caught up in my other fics that I kind of forgot about this. But I have big plans in mind so never fear, _Among Friends_ isn't going anywhere! A big seed has been planted in this chapter but it's so obvoius that I won't even bother giving you a little teaser lol. I hope you like it and please, let me know what you think.

* * *

"I want to go with Paul............no, Randy..............no wait, Paul! Dammit I don't know who I want to go with!" cried John as he threw his small carry on onto the ground.

"Well you better hurry up and decide. We're leaving in a few minutes," came a slightly muted voice from inside the trunk of the SUV. A few seconds later, Paul's head appeared followed by the rest of him. He held the door to the trunk open and looked at his friend. "I won't take it personally if you go in Randy's car man. As long as we just get on the road I really don't care."

John watched as Stephanie made her way towards them. She offered a smile before hopping inside the black SUV provided by her father and got comfortable. After breakfast yesterday, she had called her dad, told him about their beach plans and he immediately offered to let them use a company car if they needed to. Seeing as there were seven of them, two cars would definitely be useful and because Randy was the only one with a car, she gladly took him up on his offer.

"Look man, just hurry up and decide will you!" yelled Randy from the car behind. John dramatically turned with a mock shocked expression on his face before flipping the other man the bird and then quickly dodging the bottle thrown his way.

"Fuck that! I'm not going with him. He's throwing stuff at me!" John huffed. He grabbed his bag, threw it in the trunk of the SUV and climbed into the backseat. "Hey Steph," he said glumly.

Stephanie looked at the little pout on his face and laughed. "You're better coming with us anyways. We've got the better car!"

"That's so true. Tell your dad thanks for hooking us up." He rolled down the window and shouted so practically everybody on the block could hear him. "IT'S MUCH BETTER THAN THAT PIECE OF SHIT RANDY'S DRIVING!"

Paul was busy sorting the various bags, snacks and the cooler box into the trunk when he heard John yelling all over the place. His head immediately whipped up to find Randy making a beeline for the SUV. He instantly snapped the door shut, hopped inside the car and took off leaving Randy standing there eating dust.

"YEAH YOU BETTER RUN! JUST WAIT UNTIL WE GET THERE CENA!" Randy yelled after the speeding car.

Just then, Chris walked out the entrance of their apartment to see Randy fuming in the middle of the street and the fading image of the SUV in the distance as it rounded the corner. "What the hell! I was supposed to be going with them!"

"Well you're going with us now," Randy replied. "Come on. I want to catch up so we get there around the same time."

The two men walked to Randy's truck. It wasn't the most up to date model like Stephanie's father had loaned out to Paul to drive but for him it did what it was meant to do, get from A to B. Living in the city he didn't really need a car but he kept it for occasions like this anyway. Randy got in the front and smiled at his girlfriend while Chris hopped in the back beside Trish.

"Everybody ready to go?" asked Randy as he pulled on his shades. At the nodding of everybody's heads he revved up the engine and moved out onto the road.

Trish looked at Chris curiously as he got comfortable beside her. "I thought you were going with Paul?"

"I was meant to be but they took off without me I guess. He has my bag AND worst of all, my Ozzy CD!" Chris replied with a pout. He loved that CD and was looking forward to listening to it along the way.

"Your Ozzy CD is in the other car man?" asked Randy.

"Yeah!"

"Damn. I really wanted to listen to it too. We'll have to make do with Leppard or Metallica." Randy was so focused on the road that he failed to see the look exchanged between the two women in the car.

"Excuse me baby but I am not listening to rock music the whole way there!" said Melina, her face screwed up in disgust. "It hurts my head!"

Trish nodded her head in agreement. "Same here guys. I don't mind a little but not for the whole journey."

"You guys suck!" complained Chris. He folded his arms across his chest and resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get his way when he heard Randy flicking through the radio stations.

"Here! Keep it on this one!" cried Melina as the sound of the Black Eyed Peas drifted throughout the car. "Thank you," she said to Randy and pecked his cheek.

Through the rear view mirror Chris saw the smile that crossed his face and knew that he was probably going to be stuck listening to this crap the whole way there now. At least he could take solace in the fact that with Paul driving, John would most likely be stuck listening to Motorhead for a few hours. Served him right for causing this whole thing!

* * *

"Do we really have to listen to this?" whined John from the backseat as Paul popped in a second Motorhead CD.

"Yes, we do," he replied nonchalantly.

John leaned forward and looked at Stephanie. "Come on, Steph. You gotta be with me on this one."

"I like Motorhead actually." She laughed at the hurt look on his face. He was such a drama queen but she loved him all the same.

"Well I sure as hell picked the wrong car!" he huffed.

"Actually, with Randy driving the other one you probably would have been listening to rock music anyway," Paul chimed in, glancing at his friend in the rear view mirror.

"Yea, but unlike Miss-I-love-Motorhead here, I would have had Trish and Melina to back me up."

Stephanie turned in her seat and shot him a dirty look. "I am not Miss-I-love-Motorhead! I just like them that's all." She turned to Paul. "How about we listen to one of John's CD's for a while?"

"Yeah man, how about we do that," cried John happily.

Paul looked at them both, his face all screwed up. "No way am I listening to his hardcore rap shit. What if we get pulled over by the police? They'll think we are little white boy rapper wannabes! Oh wait, John is a little white boy rapper wannabe!"

"Well what if we got pulled over listening to this crap, huh? They'd think we were going to beat them to death with our metal plated guitars!" John said defensively.

Stephanie glanced between the two of them and decided they had to settle for the middle ground. "Guys! How about we compromise and listen to the radio?"

There was a delayed silence before both men answered with a disappointed, "Fine."

"Ugh! The two of you are such babies," she muttered under her breath as she switched to the radio and began flicking through the stations.

* * *

A few hours later and the group were lounging around on the beach in front of the beach house they had rented for the weekend. Randy and Melina were all cozied up together as they took in some rays, Paul and John were busy messing around with a football, Chris was reading a book and Trish and Stephanie were chatting away while they lay on the blanket covered sand munching on some snacks.

"I think we should all just move up here you know," sighed Trish dreamily.

"My dad would throw a fit if I left the company. But it sure would be nice to walk out your front door to see this every day," agreed Stephanie. She raised herself up off the blanket to get a drink and caught sight of Paul and John locked in a tackle as they fought over the ball. She shook her head. "I'd love to know where they get the energy. I swear they are like two big kids with ADHD."

"They aren't _like_ two big kids with ADHD, they _are_ two big kids with ADHD!" laughed Trish. "But we may revel in the fact that they haven't asked us to join in yet. Although I really shouldn't have said that. I've probably jinxed us now!"

Stephanie laughed before sipping at the cool lemonade some more. She knew it was just a matter of time before one of them came over and dragged her into a game of touch football which of course would then descend into an excuse for them to feel her up! And not just her, Trish too. Melina was off limits of course. But it always ended up that way. Not that she cared. It was all in good fun! She glanced up at the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun hit her face. "Chris, what are you reading?"

"Huh?" Chris answered when he heard his name being called. He was too engrossed in his book and didn't hear the question.

"What are you reading?" she asked again.

"Oh. It's called '_A Lion's Tale_.' It's a really good book. I'll pass it on to you when I'm finished just like I usually do," he smiled. He had that in common with Stephanie. They both loved to read and if one of them read a good book, they would pass it on to the other when they were finished with it.

"Thanks. What did you think of that Stephen King one I gave you a while back?"

Chris went to answer but was promptly interrupted by Trish. "Guys, I love you and all but I really don't want to sit here and listen to you talk about books for the next hour!" she whined.

"I agree," chimed in Randy, momentarily taking his attention off his half naked girlfriend.

"Oh, are you still here?" Chris asked Randy who had barely uttered a word since they'd arrived here.

Randy got to his feet and stretched, his muscles tightening and then resting again when he brought his arms back down to his sides. "Yes I'm still here. In fact, I'm going to go join in this little game of football they got going on over there. You want to join me?"

Chris contemplated it for a second or two before dropping the book and getting to his feet. "Sure why not. Me and you against dumb and dumber. We can take them!"

Stephanie laughed as the duo made their way over to the other duo that was still locked in a tackle that had now moved to the ground. Her laughter grew even louder when Chris quickly nipped in and stole the ball right out of John's hands and ran off with it. John and Paul immediately got to their feet and took off after him and were shocked when he passed it right over their heads to Randy who was waiting behind them. He cockily tapped it to the ground and yelled, "TOUCHDOWN!" Soon enough, all four guys were jumping all over each other fighting over the ball.

"What are going to have for dinner? Is somebody cooking or are we just going to eat out?" asked Melina as she rolled over beside her two friends.

"I don't know actually. I think we'll just eat out. I'm certainly not in the mood for cooking and I don't think any of the guys will be," answered Stephanie. "What do you think, Trish?" She looked at the blonde woman only to find that her attention was focused on something, or rather someone, else. "Trish?"

"What?" Trish tore her eyes away from him and put on her best innocent face as she turned to look at the inquiring faces staring back.

"Were you just checking Chris out?" blurted Melina. She was never one to be tactful.

Trish's eyes widened and she vehemently shook her head in protest, maybe a little too much. "I was not!"

"Yes you were!" cried Stephanie in surprise. It wasn't a secret that they were a pretty attractive group of friends and they joked about it all the time but the look on Trish's face was anything but platonic. "Oh My God! How long has this been going on?"

An exasperated scoff escaped her as she nervously fidgeted around. "There is nothing going on. I don't know what you guys are talking about," Trish proclaimed defensively.

Stephanie and Melina shared unconvinced glances before turning their attention back to their friend. "Trish....." they both started at the same time but they didn't get any further than that.

"Stop it! There's nothing going on OK? Just drop it." She promptly got to her feet and brushed the sand off her body. "I'm going to get some more drinks," she called over her shoulder as she headed back towards the beach house.

"I can't believe her!" cried Melina.

"I know! She was definitely looking at him with........certain intentions shall we say," agreed Stephanie. She simply couldn't believe it. When they had first met Chris, Trish definitely had a thing for him but never acted on it and they eventually became really good friends. Maybe those old feelings were stirring up inside her again. "You think we should go check on her?"

Melina shook her head. "No. She'll probably bite our heads off if we go in there. I think it's best to let her come to us."

"I guess you're right," Stephanie sighed. She took a moment before bringing up their earlier topic of conversation. "So.......dinner??"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** - So it's almost been like a whole freaking year since I last updated this lol. I can't believe it! Anyways, I hope somebody out there is still reading it. Please leave your comments to let me know! For the person asking for more Stephanie, don't worry, everybody will get their time. Right now the focus is just elsewhere. Not for too long though lol.

* * *

"Mmmmmmm, this shrimp is so damn good," John moaned appreciatively as he stuffed more of the seafood into his already full mouth.

"You've already told us twenty times, John," Randy huffed. He thought about ordering the shrimp but went for a burger instead and now he was regretting it. John rubbing it in his face every two seconds was starting to piss him off.

Paul took a swig of his beer before frowning. "Jeez man! What the hell crawled up your ass tonight?"

"Randy always has something in his ass because he's always a cranky bastard!"

There was a momentary silence at the table before the innuendo behind John's words set in and everybody started laughing, everybody except Randy.

"Shut up!"

"Is there something you want to tell us, Randy?" Trish teased, playfully bumping his shoulder. Her smile quickly disappeared when Melina glared at her though.

"He doesn't need to tell you anything. He's _all_ man," Melina stated as she rubbed his bicep. Randy glared at John for a few seconds before turning to his girlfriend and pecking her lips. Somehow he always ended up the butt of their jokes and he was getting a bit sick of it.

Paul rolled his eyes dramatically making Stephanie laugh. She sighed as she looked around the table. John was sitting there trying to look innocent while still stuffing shrimp into his mouth, Randy and Melina were all caught up with each other, Paul was trying to get the attention of their waitress, probably for another beer, Chris was busy cutting his steak and Trish was...Trish was gazing at him with a look of...longing...on her face? What the hell! From out of nowhere these past few days Trish had been ogling Chris. She was absolutely convinced that she had a thing for him. Chris seemed oblivious though, his focus still on trying to cut through what seemed to be a tough piece of steak. Stephanie sipped her wine and watched Trish curiously for a minute or two until the other woman eventually broke her gawk fest and caught her eye.

Trish saw Stephanie looking at her with an amused expression on her face and she shot her friend a death glare. Was she that obvious? She didn't know what the hell was happening. Yeah, she had a huge crush on Chris when she first met him, but she didn't make a move and they had fallen into friend territory. Recently he was all she could think about though. The image of him in nothing but a towel from the other day plagued her mind. Her feelings were rekindling. And Stephanie knew it. She could never hide anything from her. God damn having attentive friends! She would just have to convince Steph that nothing was going on while making her promise not to tell anybody else. The second Paul or John caught wind of this she would never hear the end of it.

"Hey! Yeah, ummmm, can I have another beer please? Anybody else want one?"

Trish's thoughts were broken by the appearance of the waitress. She watched as her friends gave their orders for another round.

"Trish. Do you want _something_?"

Her eyes narrowed at Stephanie's question. The smirk on the other woman's face caused her to screw up her own in disgust. "No thanks, I'm fine."

Stephanie just shrugged her shoulders. Maybe now wasn't the best place to call her out on it. But come later tonight she would have an answer.

"Guys, are we partying later tonight or what's the deal?" Chris asked after finally cutting his piece of steak and chewing through it.

"Man, I don't know. Maybe Lina and I will just head back to the house," Randy answered.

John mock barfed. "Oh for fuck sakes! You can bang each other all you want when we are home. Don't waste your last night here inside. Come on!"

Melina's eyes widened before a slow smile crept across her face. Well, he was only telling the truth. She could never get enough of Randy and vice versa. "What do you think, baby? You want to go out on the town tonight?" Her hand squeezed his and she felt a shiver down her spine at his sexy smile.

"Alright. Where are we going, Cena?"

"Shit, I don't know! Ask Paul, he's the guy who sorts that crap out," was John's unhelpful reply.

Randy rolled his eyes. "Thank you. You're so fucking helpful."

"I try. By the way, did I tell you that this shrimp is soooooooooooo good?" John quickly ducked out of the way of Randy's approaching hand and laughed. His friend was too easy to wind up and it was a constant source of amusement for him. It was even better when Paul joined in.

"Guys!"

Everybody's attention turned to Paul. "Alright, so we have two options, well actually three. One, there is a huge beach party tonight at the house just a few spots down from ours. Two, an awesome bar in town has karaoke going on. Three, Randy and Melina bang each other's brains out back at the house while the rest of us vomit up this lovely meal."

John burst out laughing and high fived Paul while Randy scowled.

"Will the two of you fuck off with that! Just because you don't have a girlfriend. Jealous fuckers!"

"Dude! That was awesome," John chuckled. "I definitely don't vote for option three."

"As much as I love you guys," Stephanie chimed in with a shrug of her shoulders, "me neither. I vote number one."

Trish nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I vote number one too."

Paul looked at her in confusion. "You vote number one two?"

"Ugh Paul! You know what I mean!"

He just smiled and took another sip of his beer.

"Ummmmm, I vote number two. Karaoke night? I'm so in!" Chris said excitedly. He loved Karaoke nights.

"Yeah, I vote Karaoke as well," Paul agreed with Chris.

John voted option two along Paul and Chris. The three of them loved Karaoke nights which usually consisted of Chris singing and getting tonnes of praise from everybody while Paul and John got hammered and screwed all their songs up.

Melina shook her head in disgust. If she never had to hear a Paul and John duet again it wouldn't be soon enough. "My ears are still bleeding from the last karaoke session. I vote option one!"

"So that leaves it down to me then, huh?" Randy smirked. He made a show of looking at John and Paul before clearing his throat and smiling a huge smile. "I vote option one, beach party."

As soon as he saw the smirk on his friend's face, Chris knew there would be no karaoke. Damn Paul and John for pissing him off. He slapped them both on the arm. "Look what you did! If you hadn't kept pissing him off all night we could have went to karaoke!"

"What! It's not my fault he can't sing!" John yelled defensively.

"You can't sing either," Stephanie chimed in innocently. She noticed the smirk on Paul's face and nudged him in his side. "I don't know what you're smiling about, neither can you."

"Hey!" They both proclaimed in outrage.

Trish vehemently nodded her head in agreement. "It's true. The only person that can sing is Chris."

"Thank you!" Chris smiled happily at Trish, almost making her insides melt in the process.

"That's because he's in a band so he doesn't count," John huffed. "Besides, I can rap. Paul can't do anything."

"Man shut up! I'm the driving force behind the two of us and you know it."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really!"

As the pair continued to argue, the rest of the group sat back and watched in amusement. The two of them were always antagonising everybody else. It was nice to see them against each other for a change.

Stephanie looked at Randy and smiled. "They are arguing over being bad and awful. What's the point?"

"They are two idiots, that's what they are. Hey Chris, speaking of you being in a band, you never did finish telling me how the meeting went with the producer," Randy asked, ignoring the 'idiots' next to him.

"Yeah, Chris, how did it go?" Melina probed further.

Chris sighed heavily and raked a hand through his hair. "He said that he would call us. It's been a week now so..."

Trish saw the disappointment in his eyes and instinctively reached to rub his arm. "Oh Chris. Don't give up. There is somebody out there that will sign you, I'm sure of it."

He looked at her and couldn't help but like how she was rubbing his arm or how her eyes were gazing at him. Yeah she had consoled him before but it felt a little different this time and he had no idea why. "Thanks, Trish," he said softly as a small smile appeared on his face.

Stephanie watched the two of them. Good God! How was nobody else picking up on this! Were they blind? Her eyes travelled to Melina who was looking right back at her with the same curious expression. Thank God somebody besides her was observant. She nodded her head and was pleased to see her friend nod back. Oh they were so going to get to the bottom of this tonight!


End file.
